Source: Rutgers case leads to probe by FBI

Associated Press

April 7, 2013

The FBI is investigating whether a former Rutgers basketball employee tried to extort the university before he made videos that showed former coach Mike Rice shoving and kicking players and berating them with gay slurs.

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A person familiar with the situation said Sunday that investigators are interested in Eric Murdock, who left his job as the men's program's player development director last year and later provided the video to university officials and ESPN.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiry has not been announced. The investigation was first reported by the New York Times.

A spokeswoman for the FBI's Newark office said the agency would not say whether there is an investigation. Murdock's lawyer did not return a call to the AP on Sunday. A Rutgers spokesman referred questions to the FBI.

A December letter from Murdock's lawyer to a lawyer representing Rutgers requested $950,000 to settle employment issues and said if the school did not agree by Jan. 4, Murdock was prepared to file a lawsuit. The letter was obtained last week by the AP and other media outlets. No settlement has been made.

The video became public last week, and Murdock on Friday filed a lawsuit against the university, contending he was fired because he was a whistleblower trying to expose Rice's behavior.

The video's release last week set off a chain reaction that led to Rice's firing and the resignations of athletic director Tim Pernetti, the university's top in-house lawyer and an assistant coach.

Meanwhile, Robert Morris University hopes to address this week allegations of physical confrontations between players and Rice during his three seasons at the suburban Pittsburgh school before he left for Rutgers.

AD Craig Coleman could speak on the matter Monday or Tuesday, after the school wraps up an internal investigation looking into the claims, according to a university official.

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